You can keep your pension savings where they are

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The retirement date on your policy isn’t a deadline. You don’t have to do anything with your pension savings when you reach that date. You can leave them where they are until you’ve considered all the options, or until you’re ready to make use of them.

Why choose to delay?

There are lots of reasons why you might want to leave your savings where they are. You might still be working for example, and not need them. If that’s the case, you (and your employer, if you’re in a workplace pension scheme) can keep adding to the pot.

Your investments, the size of your pension pot, could keep growing even if you don’t make any more contributions. Please remember though that investments can go down as well as up, so your pension savings could lose value too.

Waiting to access your pension savings could mean a higher income, because you’ll be receiving it over a shorter period of time.

You might simply need more time to decide what you’d like to do with your money. There are plenty of places you can go for help, information and impartial advice, and you’ll find a list of them in our guide to pension help.

Things to think about

If you're thinking of delaying your pension, there are a few things you'll need to think about.

• You'll have to manage on your current income. Will that be enough?
• Your money will still be invested and there’s a risk that the value of your pension could go down, as well as up. You may also still need to pay any fees or charges on your pension, so make sure you’re taking those into account. 
• There are restrictions on how much you can put into your pension, and if you go over them you’ll have to pay tax. It’s best to understand how much you’re allowed to save each year and over your lifetime. You can find details on the allowances at GOV.UK.
• Inflation could have an impact on the value of your savings.
• If you die before age 75 your pension pot can usually be passed on to your beneficiaries free of income tax. On or after 75, your pension pot still gets passed on to your beneficiaries, but they may have to pay income tax on it.
• Inheritance tax is not normally paid on any money that’s passed on, no matter what age you are when you die.  Tax treatments depend on your individual circumstances. This information is based on our understanding of current UK tax rules that may change in future.
• If annuity rates rise, you may be able to get a higher income. But don't forget that these rates along with the value of your pension savings can go down as well as up, and inflation will also affect the value of your spending power.
• Delaying could mean missing out on special features like a Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR) that are only available at your selected retirement date. Check any special features with your provider and make sure you understand how they could be affected if you decide to delay.

Get guidance and advice

We recommend you get free impartial guidance from Pension Wise, a Government service from MoneyHelper about this and other options. You should also get independent financial advice before making any decisions about how to access your pension savings. See our guide to pension advice page.